Forget Me Not
by Happy Pappy
Summary: Sometimes, you’ve just got to know when to leave the past behind and embrace the future. That is a concept Rude’s always had trouble with. At least, until he meets someone who can help him finally move forward. Rude/Yuffie.
1. I'm a Turk

Title: Forget Me Not

Summary: Sometimes, you've just got to know when to leave the past behind and embrace the future. That is a concept Rude's always had trouble with. At least, until he met someone who could help in move forward.

Pairing: Rude/Yuffie

Rating: M

Fandom: Final Fantasy VII

Genre: Romance, Drama

Warning: Graphic Scenes, Language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters and I am not making any money off of this work of fiction.

Chapter One

"I'm a Turk."

-------------------------------------

"_The Rebirth of Shinra begins today."_

Those hopeful yet haunting words echoed in the back of Rude's mind as he slowly made his way through that familiar little getaway he hadn't seen in ages. It'd been a long time since Rude had taken a vacation in the beautiful foreign settlement of Wutai and it felt good to once again be making his way through the oriental resort.

From underneath his glasses, Rude's eyes peered all about the changing community. The once glorious nation of Wutai was slowly turning itself into a complete tourist trap. Obese fathers in colorful shirts waddled around; flanked by their beaming wives looking all-too happy in their cheap, knock-off kimonos and clopping, wooden sandals.

The bald man would never say anything, but the sight of all the tourists nearly made Rude vomit. Sure, he was also guilty of using the city as a vacation spot, but he was hardly such a… tourist. He actually respected the heritage of the beautiful nation. He'd practically fallen in love with the settlement back in his early days as a Turk, during the Shinra-Wutai war, and it'd been too long since he'd been able to visit his dream home.

"Place has really changed, eh, Rude?"

Rude's brows rose over his sunglasses as he glanced over to his side, not at all surprised to see his usual accomplice. Blazing red hair stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd of dark-haired Wutai natives, a knowing smirk plastered on the casually dressed Turk's face.

"Yeah." Rude muttered back, never much for words.

"_It has changed though." _Rude thought to himself quietly, _"For the worse."_

"We'll have to come back here after we're done. I think another vacation is in the works, Rude buddy." Reno snickered to himself, placing his hands behind his head as they walked, "That is, after our business is over."

Rude simply nodded along with his partner as they walked; trying to ignore the shocked looks they got from the tourists and Wutai citizens alike. It wasn't every day someone saw the Turks; at least, not anymore. Ever since the fall of Shinra four years ago, the Turks had become a thing of myth. Like the former president himself, the Turks simply vanished out of the public's spotlight, presumed gone forever.

However, they were far from gone.

Finally, Rude's eyes stared up at the large pagoda that stood out in the center of the city that shared the same name as its nation. A large crowd had already gathered at the stairs of the tower, but all made way for the large, bearded man that stood at the top of the steps. His arms were crossed over his barrel-chest as he glared daggers down at the two Turks.

Rude could hear Reno chuckle next to him, "Old guy still tries to make himself seem like a big deal, even though he's done nothin' but sell his country to the tourists."

The large man, known in Wutai as Godo, finally began to descend the steps. He took a few steps forward and stood in front of Reno and Rude, arms still crossed in an aggressive manner. Despite his past actions, Godo was obviously not happy with the current dealings.

"The President?" Godo spat out, making Rude glad he was wearing sunglasses.

Reno placed his hands on his hips as he shrugged his shoulders, "Couldn't make it, I'm afraid. Sent us instead."

Godo sneered at Reno's casual attitude and uncrossed his arms, "A little formality wouldn't hurt."

The red-head simply chuckled and shook his head, "Look, we're here to finalize the deal, not take part in petty Wutai customs. Can't we just get this thing done?"

The crowd around Godo seemed to gasp at Reno's impudence and Rude could tell his partner's attitude was getting to Godo. The large man's face appeared to turn a slight shade of red and he could see the whites of the Wutai leader's knuckles as he gripped his sleeves.

"_Time to interject."_

"The President sends his regards." Rude quickly stated, pulling a letter out of his inside pocket. He passed the folded paper to Godo before putting his hands behind his back, "A letter of apology… and thanks."

The red in Godo's face seemed to drain as he took the letter before shaking his head and regaining his composure, "The prints?"

"The prints." Reno repeated as he lifted the briefcase he'd been holding at his side. The red-head clicked the case open and showed its contents to Godo, who peered inside with curiosity. All eyes in the surrounding crowd tried to catch a glimpse of what was inside the case before Godo finally reached in a pulled out a large, blue paper.

"So, this is it?" Godo questioned, his eyes scanning over the large blue sheet, looking over the design sketched across it as if he understood all the schematics. "A Planet-Friendly Mako Reactor?"

Reno's smirk re-appeared as he crossed his arms, "The future of energy, pal. Fresh from the genius hands of President Rufus Shinra."

Shocked murmurs went up among the crowd and Rude rolled his eyes. Leave it to Reno to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Just the muttering of the Shinra name was enough to send memetic chills down someone's spine. That was the very reason the President had told them not to mention his name.

"Excavation and Construction can begin in two weeks." Rude finally spoke up, facial expression not changing despite the rising murmurs, "All we need…" The bald man reached into his pocket and pulled out a Shinra-brand pen, "… is your signature."

Godo hesitantly reached out and took the pen in his hand, peering down at the blueprints before him. Rude watched with interested eyes as the leader seemed to have an inner debate with himself. The visions of Meteorfall were still vivid in everyone's minds, not to mention the chaotic Omega incident of only a year ago. Shinra had yet to clear its name and Godo knew this. Signing this paper would mean finally doing the thing he'd silently not wanted to do for ages.

Signing those blueprints would mean signing away Wutai… forever.

The crowd had seemed to multiply in the last few minutes and Rude inwardly sighed at the murmurs going around, _"Fucking tourists…"_

Finally, a deep breath left Godo's mouth and he clicked the pen open. All eyes went to the nation's leader as he placed the ink tip down on the paper and slowly began to sign.

However, not a single drop of ink was able to hit the parchment due to a high-pitch shout that went up through the crowd.

All eyes looked around in alarm at the sound of the shout. Rude, as well, turned in surprise only to catch a blur fly right by his face. Sunglasses-covered eyes tried to follow the figure as it flew past Godo, ripping the blueprints from the chief's hands in a flash and landing a few feet away.

Rude's brows furrowed in confusion as he stepped forward, staring at the white-cloak covered figure before him. The cloaked figure spun around on its heels to face them and held the blueprints triumphantly over its head in victory.

"Not so fast, old man!" The figure shouted in a young, high-pitched voice, "Wutai shall not be thrown away with the simple signing of a piece of paper!"

Godo's face appeared to turn three different shades of red as he stepped forward, obviously enraged at the events that had unfolded, "Y-You… Give that back this minute, Yuffie. I won't have any of your games today!"

"_Yuffie…?" _Rude thought quietly to himself.

Immediately upon hearing her name, the figure threw the white cloak aside and stood proudly, hands on his hands and blueprints at her side. She looked just like Rude had remembered. Short black hair was tied in place with a Wutai bandana, her attire looking strikingly similar to how it had years ago when they would do battle. The only thing that really looked different about the thief was a slightly more curvy form. The years had definatly helped mature the girl's physique.

"You think I'm going to let you sign Wutai over to… to Shinra?!" Yuffie shouted, glaring at her father in anger, "Look at you, Godo! Do you have any idea what you're doing!?"

Godo fumed at his daughter, "Yuffie! This has been discussed enough! Now give the papers back!"

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at her father and turned her brown pupils to face Rude and his partner, "And you guys! I thought Shinra was finished!"

Reno chuckled as he crossed his arms, "You thought wrong, kiddo."

The young thief narrowed her eyes at Rude's red-headed partner, jaw clenched, "Hasn't the past taught you guys anything? Do you really think building more Mako Reactors are going to help the Planet?"

"That's really not our forte, kid." Reno stated coldly as he stepped forward, slowly making his way towards Yuffie, "We're the Turks, doll. I'd think you'd known that more than anyone here."

Yuffie took a step back, hand reaching back to grip the large Shuriken that was tied securely to her back. Her eyes watched Reno angrily as she used her peripherals to look for a way to escape. Rude simply cracked his knuckles as he prepared himself. He knew what was next.

As if on cue, Yuffie burst into action. She quickly reached into her back pocket and withdrew two black orbs which she flung at Reno and Rude. The orbs flew through the air, one smashing right in front of Reno and covering the red-head in an ocean of solid smog. The other flew towards Rude. However, the bald man paid the bomb no heed, instead watching Yuffie.

The young thief had done just as Rude had expected and taken off at a dead sprint down the road. Quickly, Rude flew into action as well and took off straight after her, ignoring the smoke bomb as it burst behind him and covered Godo and his citizens in another sea of smoke.

Yuffie glanced behind her, eyes widening at the sight of the bald Turk sprinting clumsily behind her. Rude could hear her shout an expletive his way as she turned down a side road and kept going, causing Rude to groan as he continued his pursuit.

"_Fucking runners…" _Rude thought, huffing as he tried desperatly to keep up with the much quicker ninja, _"Why do I… always end up… chasing someone?"_

Rude wheezed and huffed as he continued running, finally reaching up to his ear to press the button on the communicator that was attached to his lobe. He could hear the other Turk's voice entering his ear as he did so.

"Encountering problems?"

"A… a little one…" Rude huffed out, trying not to lose sight of Yuffie as he turned another corner, this one leading straight towards the infamous Da Chao Mountain, "We got… an unsuspected… guest… She's got… the… the plans…"

"You're out of shape." Tseng whispered quietly through the communicator, "Location?"

"Da Chao." Rude couched out, cursing his dying lungs.

"Elena will fly over and help you out. Don't lose her, Rude."

"_Easier said than done."_

From underneath his still well-placed sunglasses, Rude watched as Yuffie continued to sprint ahead of him, making a beeline for Da Chao. It'd been ages since he'd last climbed the ancient monument and the thought of running up the mountainside in the heat of a chase was not one that much interested the Turk.

"_Now is the time… I need to carry a gun."_

Rude grunted as the road began to sharply incline, tightening his jaw as he felt his lungs beginning to burn. Yuffie, the ever hyper ninja, still appeared to be going strong. Rude silently cursed his growing age and decline of athleticism.

"Quit following me!" He heard Yuffie shout from ahead of him and Rude rolled his eyes from under his glasses. Was that really supposed to make him stop?

The chase continued for a good few minutes longer until Yuffie finally rounded a corner and found herself on the edge of the one of the gigantic faces that were carved into the side of Da Chao. Yuffie cursed her bad decision as she looked around desperatly, trying to find an alternative escape route just as Rude came stumbling up behind her.

The sight of Yuffie no longer running was a welcome one as Rude finally stopped, breathing heavily as he placed his hands on his knees. For once, he was regretting wearing the tight-fitting black suit to work.

"Finally…" Rude huffed out, trying desperatly to force air back into his lungs. The bald man finally stood up straight and cracked his knuckles, "The prints, please."

Yuffie narrowed her eyes at the Turk as she stuck her tongue out, "Give it up, baldy!" The ninja shouted, holding the blueprints behind her back protectively, "I'm not about to let you destroy Wutai for your beloved Shinra! Not again."

Rude sighed as he stepped forward, finally regaining control of his breathing as he pushed his sunglasses back up on his nose, "The prints… please."

The young ninja rolled her eyes, "Is that all you can say?" The younger girl leaned forward, pointing to her lips, "Read'em, baldy. No! Way!"

"Fine." Rude muttered quietly as he finally slid into a defensive stance, placing his fists in front of him. It'd been a long time since the Turk had done battle with any of the former AVALANCHE members, and he was silently hoping he wouldn't have to again. However, the young ninja gave him no choice.

"You're seriously going to fight for Shinra again?" Yuffie asked, brows no longer furrowed but eyes looking confused, "After everything that's gone down? After Meteorfall? You're still siding with Shinra?"

Rude's jaw tightened as he listened to Yuffie speak, "I'm a Turk."

Yuffie shook her head as she reached back to grip her Shuriken tightly, "Mindless as always. Guess we got no choice, huh?"

The larger man narrowed his eyes as he watched the young girl pull the Wutai weapon from her back and hold it defensively in front of her body. Rude grunted as he quickly pressed forward on his back foot, sprinting towards the ninja full force. His eyes watched as Yuffie, with a flick of her wrist, sent the Shuriken flying towards him. However, Rude wasn't so out of shape as to get hit with a one-handed attack and quickly pressed off with both his legs. The force sent Rude flying through the air, jumping cleanly over the aerial Shuriken and landing just inches in front of a shocked Yuffie.

Just as he landed, a familiar sound was heard as a Shinra-made helicopter appeared over Da Chao. The helicopter hovered just off the ledge of the mountainside and Rude could easily make out his blonde associate in the driver's seat.

"Shit." He heard Yuffie mutter as she stared back at the helicopter.

"Yo, Rude! Nice goin'!"

Rude turned his head just in time to see Reno come running up the mountainside, hands on his hips as he strolled steadily towards them, a smirk on his pale face. Rude nodded to his partner before turning back to Yuffie, his eyes meeting the helpless brown ones of the ninja from under his shades.

He cleared his throat, "The prints, please."

Yuffie stared at Rude for a long moment, defeat evident of her face. However, in the blink of an eye, that look of defeat changed to one of mischief as a familiar grin appeared on the young girl's face. Rude raised a brow at the girl as he took a step forward.

"You're a Turk, right?" Yuffie shouted over the helicopter's noise, "Well, let's see how important that is to ya!"

Rude had no chance to question the girl's statement before she quickly turned away from the larger man and ran for the edge of the mountain. Rude's eyes widened as he watched her, knowing what she was planning on doing.

Reno shouted from behind him, "Rude! The prints!"

The bald Turk grunted as he sprinted forward, diving towards Yuffie in an attempt to grab onto the girl as she jumped straight into the air. He cursed loudly as his fingers just lightly brushed Yuffie's own before grabbing tightly onto her hand. He could feel his arm practically get pulled out of its socket as he held tightly onto Yuffie as the ninja hung limply over the edge of the mountain.

"What the hell… are you thinking?!" Rude cursed at the girl as he looked down at her. Confusion once again marred the Turk's face as he caught that familiar mischievous grin flash across the ninja's face. He blinked oddly before Yuffie pulled a red orb out from her pocket and flashed it at the bald man.

Rude's eyes grew wide in shock and all he could do was muster a loud curse as the Fire materia flashed brightly before engulfing the entire mountainside in hot ember. Rude could feel himself loose his footing and stumble forward, only managing to keep a tight grip on Yuffie's hand as he fell forward and felt the cool wind rush over his bald head as he fell towards the forest below.

Another curse escaped Rude's lips as he watched the forest growing closer and closer, and he looked over at his side to see Yuffie, seemingly knocked unconscious from the Fire spell she'd just cast. The Turk's jaw clenched as he used the rest of his strength to pull Yuffie tightly towards his body, trying desperatly to shield their bodies against the oncoming crash.

The last thing Rude felt before blacking out was the feeling of Yuffie tightening her grip around him and his sunglasses slipping off his face.

And Rude would have no idea about how much his life was about to change, all thanks to a mischievous young ninja.

To Be Continued…

Notes from the Pappy:

Alright, I've finally started another fanfic. What do you guys think? This pairing has been nagging at me for a long time and I really hope I'm able to make it believable. It's been ages since I last played Final Fantasy VII so I really hope I'm able to keep everyone in character. If I get anything wrong or if anything seems way off then please let me know.

Other than that, please leave me reviews. Whether they're good (yay!) or bad (boo.), I don't really care. Hell, even if you completely despise this story, this pairing, this fandom, or me in general, leave me a cute little review about it. Constructive criticism is especially encouraged!


	2. Where's Reno when I need him?

Title: Forget Me Not

Summary: Sometimes, you've just got to know when to leave the past behind and embrace the future. That is a concept Rude's always had trouble with. At least, until he met someone who could help in move forward.

Pairing: Rude/Yuffie

Rating: T

Fandom: Final Fantasy VII

Genre: Romance, Drama

Warning: Graphic Scenes, Language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters and I am not making any money off of this work of fiction.

Chapter Two

"Where's Reno when I need him?"

--------------------------------------

The air was cold, dark and cold. A sharp breeze blew swiftly through the night, piercing skin to the core. However, despite her scantily clad appearance, Yuffie was as warm as she'd ever been.

Her bare skin nuzzled lightly into the red robes that enveloped her body; keeping her warm in the night sky. A light sigh of content escaped her girl's throat as she wrapped her arms tightly around the other individual's body, hugging the man securely as her cheek dug deeper into his collar bone, trying to pull every piece of warmth from his body she could.

Strong arms wrapped equally tight around her own body, pulling her compactly against the man's chest. The corners of Yuffie's lips turned upwards at the feeling. This was the feeling she'd been waiting so long for. This was the thing she'd dreamt about, fantasized about. This was the thing she'd been wanting for four long years, and now she knew exactly how it felt.

"You're cold?" A strong voice asked Yuffie in the dark. The young ninja simply smiled and shook her head, burying her face in the crook of the man's voice.

"Not like this." She whispered back quietly before taking in a deep breath. She'd always enjoyed the smell of the man that now held her so tightly, "Just stay like this? With me?"

The man was silent for a long moment, but that didn't bother her. Yuffie had long ago grown used to the man's awkward silences, they'd just become another part of him. Finally, his head nodded curtly, "As long as you'd like."

That was all Yuffie needed to hear. The smile on the girl's face grew wider as she sat up slightly, pulling herself up to peer into the angelic face that her lover owned. Her eyes traced up every ridge and edge the face had, finally landing on his eyes. Those dark, crimson pools of desire. How long had she longed to peer into those pupils, only to be forced to look away in embarrassment whenever she caught herself doing so?

This time, however, the man didn't look away. Yuffie blinked a moment before leaning in slowly and placing a light kiss on the man's lips. She smiled as she pulled away and once again buried her face in the man's chest.

She was happy.

Suddenly, a cool breeze blew through, whipping Yuffie's hair and cutting into her bare skin. She grumbled lightly as she reached for the man's red robes, but found none. Confusion marred Yuffie's face before she finally cracked open her eyes.

The dark night terrain was now replaced with one of daylight. Beams of sunlight littered the area she now occupied, landing on grassy land and on the sides of trees. The breeze still blew, although it was far from chilling. Instead, it carried with it a feeling of warmth. It was that familiar breeze Wutai always held.

Yuffie blinked hard, a feeling of drowsiness in her eyes. Had she been sleeping? Was that all a dream? The young ninja's lips formed into a frown, until her hands felt the familiar feeling of fabric underneath her. She was still lying on top of someone, the person's chest serving as her pillow.

Perhaps… she hadn't been dreaming? Was _he_ really there with her?

Slowly, Yuffie moved her eyes to look over at the person she now rested on. Her eyes landed on a strong, rigid face, somewhat similar to that of the man of her dreams, but still completely different. The strong face held a deeper tan and light bristles of a goatee stood out on his chin. Gone was the angelic, nearly feminine one of the dark-haired man, replaced with a much more masculine one. Perhaps the strongest contrast to the man of her dreams, however, was the fact that this man had no hair. His shaved head glistened in the daylight.

Finally, Yuffie sat up curtly, looking down at the man she rested on. His black suit was dirty and slightly torn in spots, and no glasses sat on the man's nose. Suddenly, all the events of before rushed back to Yuffie and she sighed, rubbing her now throbbing forehead.

"It was all a dream after all." Yuffie whispered quietly, her frown remaining, "Vince…"

With a deep sigh, Yuffie crawled off of the fallen Turk and sat herself on the ground before turning to look at the man she'd been sleeping on earlier. The older male's chest rose and fell slowly, but he was obviously pretty hurt from the fall they'd taken together. She could briefly remember what happened.

Rude had ruined her daring escape. The plan was for her to dive off of Da Chao, then use to expert ninja training to land safely in the trees below. However, the bald dumby had ruined that when he grabbed her arm, forcing her to use her Fire materia to escape. She hadn't expected the force of the explosion to momentarily knock her unconscious, and send her and Rude plummeting to the ground together.

Yuffie frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest. She could remember Rude pulling her into his arms tightly. If it wasn't for that, things could have been a lot worse. He'd taken the brunt of the fall, and she could tell.

He'd protected her?

"Dumb bald idiot…" Yuffie mumbled quietly as she crawled over to sit by his side. Her hands gently reached out and touched the man's chest and arms, feeling along him for breaks. A light blush fell over Yuffie's face as she did so. It's not like this was the first time she'd treated men's wounds. She'd been forced to do a lot more than this when she'd been traveling the globe with her AVALANCHE friends. She'd seen the near naked frames of Cloud, Barret, and even Vincent more times than she could remember. Still, they were friends. This… was Rude.

"I shouldn't even be bothering." Yuffie grumbled to herself as her hands continued to move over Rude's chest, feeling each rib to see if there were any broken ones, "You did this to yourself, you know? If you'd just had left Wutai alone then you wouldn't be in this shape right now. Idiot."

Yuffie finally finished her check-up and sat back, crossing her legs as she sat in the grass. Rude was a tough guy and had survived the fall with no breaks or anything. Still, he wasn't in real great shape. With a sigh, Yuffie looked at her arm guard and began checking the four round sockets that were built into it, and the four round objects inside.

Her eyes landed on the green orb that sat in the first socket and she nodded, holding her hand out towards Rude. The ninja closed her eyes and concentrated her energy on the green orb. She felt the quick surge of magical power run through her body then watched as green sparkles fell over Rude's body.

It wasn't an overly strong Cure spell, but it was enough to at least help Rude regain some of his strength. He was still unconscious, but at least in less pain than he probably was before.

"There, you owe me, baldy." Yuffie grumbled at the unconscious Turk, "I don't use my materia on just anyone, you know."

Yuffie stared at Rude for a few moments more, as if expecting the bald man to reply, then simply rolled her eyes and lay back in the grass, sighing deeply.

"Well, this is a fine mess you've found yourself in, Yuffie." The ninja whispered to herself, "Stranded at the foot of Da Chao, deep in the Wutai Woods, with probably the worst company one could find."

The young girl sighed as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her coveted cell phone. Just as she'd expected, there was no service this far into the forest. A light pout stood out on the girl's lips as she closed the phone and returned it to her pocket, only to feel another thing inside. Yuffie blinked before pulling out the folded piece of blue paper, suddenly remembering what it was.

"_Oh, yeah. Shinra's blue prints."_ Yuffie thought quietly as she slowly unfolded the design. She flattened the blue paper out on the ground and looked into over thoughtfully.

The design printed on the blue parchment was very familiar. It looked exactly like one of Shinra's old Mako Reactors. However, at the bottom of the paper, printed in bold letters, read 'Planet Friendly."

Yuffie rolled her eyes as she began folding the paper up again, "'Planet Friendly' my right leg!" The ninja huffed as she climbed to her feet and returned the paper to her back pocket before crossing her arms and looking around at her surroundings. _"Now what?"_

A light rumbling in Yuffie's stomach quickly answered her question and she sighed, "Guess I'm going hunting?" She asked before turning to look at her fallen company. Rude still lay there, motionless save for the steady rising of his chest. Yuffie shrugged her shoulders as she turned on her heel and marched off into the woods, hoping she could find something edible.

---

The sound of birds chirping filled Rude's ears as he slowly began to wake from his sleep. A throbbing pain immediately filled the Turk's head as his eyes cracked open, only to shut tightly as bright light rushed in and stung his irises.

Had Reno taken him out drinking again?

"Fuck…" Rude muttered quietly as he slowly forced himself into a sitting position. He finally cracked open his eyes and peered around at his surroundings. He was deep in some forest, lying in a clearing of the trees. The bald man looked up and could clearly see the hole in the trees overhead where he'd crashed through earlier. How he'd survived with so few injuries, he'd never know.

The Turk sat up straight and looked himself over. He appeared to be in pretty good shape save for a few cuts in his favorite suit and a lack of sunglasses on his nose. _"Guess I'm tougher than I… wait… the girl…"_

Rude blinked as he looked around. Just as he'd expected, Yuffie was nowhere in sight. He'd surely protected the girl from the fall, shielding her body with his own as they crashed through the trees surrounding Da Chao, and now she was gone. And with her, the Mako Reactor prints.

"Ungrateful brat…" The Turk muttered quietly to himself.

Slowly and achingly, Rude forced himself to his feet and stretched his arms over his head. Other than a bit of soreness in his joints, he was tip-top. The bald man jumped on the balls of his feet and few times and tested his arms by throwing a few punches in the air, before placing his hands on his hips and nodding.

Rude cracked his knuckles before peering around, _"Now, to find a way out of here."_

Instinctively, Rude reached up and placed a finger on the communicator in his ear. He cleared his throat and spoke, "Tseng, come in."

There was no response in his ear and Rude blinked a bit in confusion, "Tseng?"

The Turk frowned as he pulled the Shinra-made communicator from his ear and looked at it. The small device gave him no response as he pressed a few of the small buttons and Rude sighed, "Broken…"

Rude tossed the communicator into the grass and crossed his arms. He was stranded, alone and with no means of getting a hold of the others. What a fine mess he'd landed in…

"Well, look who's up."

The sound of a familiar voice caused Rude to spin around and stare in mild surprise at the sight before him. Standing next to one of the large trees was that familiar little ninja. Yuffie stood there with a small smirk on her youthful face, a mild twinkle in her chestnut eyes as she beamed at Rude. Both her arms held a small amount of fruit and berries, which she tossed on the ground in front of them before placing her hands on her bare waist.

"Feeling better?" Yuffie question as she stared at him.

Rude crossed his arms over his chest as he looked from the fruit to the ninja, then rose a confused brow at her, "You're still here?"

"Well, duh!" Yuffie rolled her eyes as she grabbed a berry from the pile and popped it into her mouth, "You know, I was thinking about using my wings to fly out of these woods and go home, but I thought I'd wait around for you to wake up."

Rude ignored the sarcasm in the girl's voice and shrugged his shoulders, "Figured you took off when you woke up."

"Figured wrong, huh?" Yuffie shrugged her shoulders as she sat herself down on the ground and grabbed another berry, "The woods 'round here are pretty dense. Not only that but-" Yuffie paused as she threw another red berry in her mouth, chewing in between words, "-this is the most dangerous part of all of Wutai Woods. We're at the base of Da Chao, not exactly a friendly place."

The bald man nodded slowly before clearing his throat, "Do you still have the blue prints?"

Yuffie rolled her eyes as she stared up at Rude with a dark frown, "I do and you're not touching'em! I think we got a little bit more to worry about right now than your stupid Shinra nonsense. In case you haven't noticed, we're kind of in a predicament here, baldy."

Rude crossed his arms as he looked down at the girl, "And whose fault is that?"

"Not mine!" The ninja shouted as she scampered to her feet. She marched over to the much taller Turk and slammed a finger into his chest, "If _you_ hadn't grabbed onto me during my escape, this would have never happened!"

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you stole Shinra property." Rude commented coolly, looking down at Yuffie with a furrowed brow.

"Shinra property?!" The younger girl growled as he placed her hands on her hips defiantly, "What?! You expect me just to sit back an' let you stupid Shinra dummies come around and try to turn Wutai into even more of a joke than it already is?! Besides, what the hell are you thinking anyways? Trying to bring back Mako Reactors? Are you kiddin' me?!"

Rude frowned deeply, "The President is-"

"Blah, blah, blah!" Yuffie rolled her eyes as she turned away from Rude and marched back over to the pile of fruit, "President this, President that. He's not even a president anymore, you know. Shinra is over. He's just a normal guy now." The young ninja stretched before spinning around and addressing the Turk once more, "Just count yourself lucky, bucko that you survived with as little injuries as you have. Not many do after terrorizing the home of Yuffie Kisaragi, the mightiest warrior in all of Wutai!"

A skeptical brow rose at Yuffie as Rude reached into his jacket and pulled out one of his spare sets of sunglasses before placing them on his nose.

Yuffie watched Rude in shock before crossing her arms, "Are you serious? You carry around spares?"

"Why not?"

"You're weird." Yuffie wrinkled her nose at Rude as she shrugged her shoulders, "Who carries around spare sunglasses? Seriously?"

"I do." Rude stated coldly as he straightened the glasses on his nose then surveyed the pile of food before him before plucking a yellow-ish fruit from the mix, "and my thanks for the food but after I'm done, I'll be taking _Shi__**n**__ra's _prints and making my way out of here."

Yuffie's mouth opened in a mix of shock and anger at Rude before stomping forward once more, "Hold it right there, baldy! You ain't going anywhere. Not with those blue prints and not without me! Besides, what makes you think you can find your way out of here alone?"

Rude shrugged his shoulder as he took a bite from the fruit, "Tseng and the Turks should be coming for me shortly."

The young ninja rolled her eyes, "Well, they're not the only ones. I'm sure Wutai's mightiest warriors are already scouring the woods for me." Yuffie nodded proudly as she turned away from Rude, smirking to herself.

The bald Turk was quiet a moment as he chewed his fruit before quietly questioning her, "I thought you were Wutai's mightiest warrior."

Yuffie blinked a moment before spinning around to address Rude once more, "I-I am! I mean Wutai's _other_ warriors!" The young girl shouted, chestnut hues glaring at the taller individual.

Rude nodded slowly, "If you're so mighty, why don't you just find your way out of here on your own then?"

"Well, I would if it weren't for the fact that thanks to _someone_ I'm currently without my shuriken!"

"Someone? You mean me?" Rude blinked in confusion as he looked up into the accusing eyes of Yuffie as she nodded slowly, "How is that my fault? You threw the damn thing at me."

"Well… you're the one that jumped over it. If you hadn't done that, I'd still have it."

"Because it'd be buried in my chest…"

Yuffie shrugged her petite shoulders, "A minor consequence."

Rude shook his head as he finished his fruit and began reaching for another one. Yuffie slowly sat herself down next to the pile and began digging in herself.

"Besides, you owe me." Yuffie spoke once more, "If it weren't for me and my materia, you'd be in a whole lot of pain right now."

"_So, that's why I'm in such good condition_…" Rude thought quietly to himself as he began munching on what looked like an apple, choosing not to say anything to the ninja girl.

Yuffie stared at Rude as he chewed the rest of her food, trying to figure the bald man out. She rolled her eyes at his silence, _"Great. How do I always get stuck with the loser quiet guys? First Cloud, then Vince, and now this baldy. Hell, he's worse. At least Cloud and Vinnie had pretty hair…" _Yuffie frowned as thoughts of her black-haired fantasy once again filled her mind.

The young ninja quickly shook the thoughts of Vincent Valentine from her head and stretched leisurely on the grass as she finished eating, "Have you come to terms with not leaving me alone yet, Mr. Baldy? You couldn't leave a poor, unarmed, defenseless little girl out in the woods alone, could you?"

"_Shit…"_ Rude thought quietly as he tossed the last of his apple in his mouth. She was hitting him right where it counts. His chivalry. _"Damn kid…"_

Yuffie could tell she had found Rude's weak spot and sat forward, "I just… I don't think I can make it out here all alone. It's so… scary." The ninja forced her lips into her best pour and crawled forward towards Rude, "Won't you… help me?"

Rude frowned deeply as Yuffie crawled towards him, taking a step back from the girl and putting his hands up. Why was he always so weak when it came to girls? Kids and girls, and Yuffie was a mix of both.

"Sure, fine." Rude finally stated before trying to regain his cool composure, "I suppose I can't really leave you anyways. Not when you have the blue prints."

Yuffie smiled broadly as she jumped to her feet, throwing her hands up in victory, "Ha! I knew you'd come around, baldy!"

Rude sighed as he re-adjusted his glasses and turned away from the girl, _"Where's Reno when I need him?"_

The younger girl was still busying herself with her celebrations as Rude brushed the dirt from his suit and set off into the woods, simply grunting to get the girl's attention. Yuffie finally turned her head to watch as Rude left and quickly stumbled after him, "Hey! Wait up, bald stuff! Remember, you can't leave me alone!"

Rude sighed deeply as he heard Yuffie sprinting after him. This was going to be a _long_ trip.

To Be Continued…


End file.
